http://www.trains.com/trn/webcams/rochelle.aspx?pt=archive&p=1
9:55 AM
Anybody know of where that railtrain is headed? I’m curious. BTW, did anyone get any other pictures of that? The camera didn’t exactly take the pic at the best time, and I wanted to see what locos were on it and what other equipment and stuff. Thanks for any help.
I can’t comment on this particular one, but the BNSF yard engine here moved a whole lot of them around the yard - getting them ready to go be filled up would be my guess.
Tis the season -
Mook
…Just looking at that “railtrain” caught on Rochelle cam…I ponder about the “resistance” that might occur “bending” {dozens}, that many rails that was loaded on that train…It sure works ok, as it is the standard way of hauling them but to “bend” that much steel when going around a turn makes one think about it.
Those things actually bend easier than they appear. For the most part, they’re like a wet spaghetti noodle. BTW, I found the answer to my question around an hour or 2 later. Also to be seen from the pics, that train came back on the other track laying down rail. I still didn’t get to see the front of the train, but at least I got to see the middle and rear.
Rail is quite flexible in the horizantal direction. The Golden Spike NHS has some stub switchs. When you throw those switchs you are bending not one but two rails. They work surprisingly well (unless the engineer parks on the movable portion of the rail).
dd
Will you explain to us the advantages/disadvantages of stub switches you use over conventional switches?
I saw one come through town last summer. It squealed going through a curve. The noise was enough to raise the hair on the back of your neck.
Bob, about the only advantages to stub switches would be ease and cheapness of construction. Once you’ve got 'em, though, they’d be hard to keep in adjustment, and virtually impossible to negotiate at any speed. I’m also sure that the heavier the rail, the harder it would be to “bend the rail” (where do you suppose that slang term for throwing a switch came from?).
I also don’t know if anyone’s tried, but I suspect that signalization of a stub switch would be impossible.
Stub swtiches have a lot of disadvantages - which is why they were all replaced with point-type switches. The biggest problem is thermal expansion - you have a gap between the stub rail and the desired destination rail. If the temperature is too cold that gap becomes larger. With nothing supporting the flange then you get wheel drop that is both rough on the wheel and rough on the track. If the temperature is too warm then the gap closes up and the switch becomes very difficult to throw. We sometimes use the fire hose on the tender to wet the stub and cool it down to the point it will throw. In a conventional switch the points can accomodate most temperature extremes.
Second is safety. If you back through a misaligned point switch, you spring the switch and bend the bridle rod and MOW gets all upset. If you back through a misaligned stub switch you are on the ground! There are no guard rails or anything else to prevent tipping the car (or engine) on its side.
At Golden Spike - for historical reasons, the 2 switches nearest the actual spike site are stubs. One is kept permanently locked and is not used. The other has to be used every day that there are operations. It is also kept locked but has to be unlocked for operation. Our rule is that both the engineer and the fireman must see the correct alignment of the rail (not just the target) or we stop. Right now that switch has vertical play in the stub of over 1 inch. That will have to be corrected before operations commence on May 1st. Most of the rest of the switches are conventional point type switches for safety - with harp stands to look correct in photographs.
dd
It came back on the other track & going WB it also stopped & blocked the crossing for a bit of time